Among other essentials, it also needs relationships with libraries, schools of all kinds, and the people who create books and other content. Ideally libraries or a related nonprofit could buy OverDrive, an existing commercial service, as a way to kickstart a national digital system for the United States.

The e-library issue is really a K-12 one in some ways, and should be part of the national agenda, especially with education so often hailed as a major way to fight poverty and joblessness.

Hello, Barack Obama? E-textbooks for schools are not enough. We also need a full-service national digital library system for Americans of all ages, not just young families but also workers in need of training—as well as disabled people lacking the mobility to get to the library.

Online interactivity and social media features and other nonbook items and services are “musts” for a modern digital library system, and I’m all in favor of local libraries experimenting with innovations like hackerspace. Library book clubs, e- and p-, are also terrific. But don’t get libraries out of the business of providing the books themselves, whatever the medium. An OverDrive purchase, financed by foundations or public-spirited philanthropists, could help immensely.

For newcomers to the e-library issue, some relevant links appear below:

While academic and other research needs count, one of the most rewarding uses of a national digital library system would be the promotion of family literacy, and popular content from publishers carried by OverDrive could help meet this goal.

In the United States, the most promising of all the existing digital library project is the Digital Public Library of America. One shortcoming of the DPLA is insufficient attention paid to mass needs. But I consider this to be very fixable, and an OverDrive purchase by libraries working with the DPLA would help. When I checked last week, some key DPLA participants seemed open minded about the OverDrive idea if details could be worked out. OverDrive is the major company in this area, the reason I’m focusing on it.

About LibraryCity: More information here. This is a small, voluntary, grassroots effort without any hidden angels, and we’ll welcome relevant essays from readers, as well as other nonfinancial assistance (no need for money—just other kinds of support to enlighten policymakers). Questions? Just email.

David Rothman { Thanks, Todd. A few points: 1. Portals rich in metadata---not just full-fledged archives---can be useful. Of course, I wish the DPLA interface were better so... } – May 06, 1:04 PM

Todd { I'm confused by your call to support the DPLA with an endowment. If the DPLA is to become a real public library it needs to... } – May 06, 12:33 PM

David Rothman { Thanks for caring about this important issue, Robert. iBooks' TTS isn't as slick as it could be, nor is the TTS as used on the... } – Jan 03, 9:20 PM

Robert Nagle { The fact that the low powered earlier Kindle 3 model could implement a reasonably functional version of text-to-speech suggests that the technological challenges of doing... } – Jan 03, 9:09 PM

David Rothman { Hi, Troy--I very much appreciated your note. No, not much is available in Alexandria in terms of general bookstores, perhaps partly because rents around here... } – Oct 21, 2:15 PM

Troy Johnson { I wish I read this aticle before compiling my list of best cities for readers of African American literature. Part of my motivation for publishing... } – Oct 21, 1:21 PM

David Rothman { Thanks for your comments, Jen. Actually we agree in many if not most ways. I certainly want librarians to be able to go outside to... } – Oct 15, 12:39 PM

Jen { Sadly, I don't share your optimism about the ability of libraries to manage the security of their own applications. Libraries have good intentions when it... } – Oct 15, 12:12 PM

Diane Romm { We did that once before. It was called a subscription library, and it's what existed before the rise of free public libraries. What did it... } – Jul 22, 9:51 AM

David Rothman { Thanks for your opinions, L.O. A lot of sensible people share our feelings about the greater value that a different approach could add. Here are a... } – Jul 05, 12:25 PM

Library Observer { I admittedly have no knowledge of the internal dollars and cents workings of Overdrive -- but it does touch on topics that I have always... } – Jul 05, 11:45 AM

David Rothman { Hi, Mike. I really appreciate your suggestions, but Testbag, almost surely one of the offenders, is not even on the app menu within Settings. And... } – May 16, 8:14 PM

Mike { Just go in settings, application and disable (if you cannot uninstall) the apps (like ubiinfo) that bugs you with ads. Avast antivirus for Android will tell you... } – May 16, 1:54 PM